Democratic congressman takes heat for lobbyist-organized Taiwan trip

Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., running for reelection in a tight race in northern New York, is under attack over a trip to Taiwan that broke House ethics rules.

In May, ProPublica first reported that the 2011 trip Owens took with his wife was organized by Park Strategies, the lobbying firm of former senator Al D'Amato that works for the government of Taiwan. House ethics rules bar members of Congress from taking most trips organized by lobbyists. Owens reimbursed the $22,000 cost of the trip after our story was published.

Now, Republican challenger Matt Doheny has taken aim at Owens over the issue. This ad has been running on Albany TV stations since Oct. 3 and in Watertown since Oct. 9, according to the Doheny campaign:

During a debate Tuesday hosted by NBC affiliate WPTZ, Owens was also asked what he learned from the Taiwan trip episode.

"That's a thing that can happen in this complex world that we live in and we need to act responsible and take responsibility for it," Owens said.

MODERATOR: Last Christmas, you and your wife took a trip to Taiwan. Four days, $20,000, trip arranged by lobbyists. After the details were made public on a website, you reimbursed for the expense of that trip. What did you learn from that episode?

OWENS: Well, we thought that we were abiding by the rules. There were some questions raised. In response to those questions we decided to take the step of repaying that money. And we believe that still we did everything in accordance with the rules to the best of our knowledge at the time. And we took the step that we thought was appropriate to correct it by paying that money back. That's a thing that can happen in this complex world that we live in, and we need to act responsible and take responsibility for it.

This year's race in the 21st district is a rematch from 2010; that year, a third candidate ran on the Conservative line and Owens barely beat his challenger Doheny.

An internal Doheny campaign poll released earlier this month showed him trailing Congressman Owens by five points among likely voters. A poll in early September showed Doheny trailing by 13 points.